Hundreds of women on Tuesday petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto to intervene following the continued absence of a Deputy Governor in Nairobi.
Led by Nairobi County Women Forum chairlady Cecilia Wairimu, the women want Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to move with speed and appoint a Deputy Governor preferably a woman.
“For a close to a year ,women have waited for the Governor to honour his pledge of appointing a woman Deputy Governor. Some of the problems women face emanate from the fact that there isn’t someone high placed to stand for them,” she said.
In March this year,Governor Sonko through his Facebook page proposed some names and asked Kenyans to help him choose a deputy among them was lawyer Miguna Miguna who was rejected by the Nairobi County Assembly.
Others proposed by the Governor include business woman Ann Kagure , former town clerk John Gakuo, Lawyer Karen Nyamu and Bishop Margret Wanjiru among others.
Ann Kagure is a known successful insurance executive who has won for two consecutive years as the Insurance Agent of the year across the country she started off as a sales representative for the American Life Insurance Company(ALICO), now CFC Life at the age of 20,and was promoted in the year 2000 to Unit Manager,and later Agency Manager.
Lawyer Karen Nyamu came into the lime light after she unsuccessfully vied for the position of Nairobi Woman representative in 2017.
Bishop Magret Wanjiru is the former Starehe MP and also contested for Nairobi Gubernatorial seat in last year’s general election.
The position of a Deputy Governor has been vacant since January this year after Polycarp Igathe tendered his resignation.
The Governor has been under pressure even from the Members of Nairobi County concerning several issues top on the agenda being the appointing a Deputy Governor.
Following the Supreme Court Advisory, Governor Mike Sonko is required to nominate his preferred candidate for the Deputy Governor’s post for submission to the County Assembly which will vet and approve the candidate if satisfied.
Source: Thomson-Reuters Foundation News
More than 70 babies were born with microcephaly in Angola - suspected victims of an emerging Zika outbreak.
Emiliano Cula starts to cry as his tiny fingers, curled into a tight fist, are stretched by a physical therapist to stimulate motor control.
Born in a poor neighborhood of Angola's capital Luanda, the 10-month old boy has microcephaly, a birth defect marked by a small head and serious developmental problems. He still can't sit upright and has difficulty seeing and hearing.
Source: Allafrica
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Lahai Lawrence Leeman, has told Members of Parliament on the Committee of Internal Affairs that the ministry was currently establishing bank accounts for all female inmates to receive financial packages at the end of their jail terms as a way of empowering them.
Leeman said all inmates on remand or nearing completion of their jail terms would be benefiting from the scheme, stating that whenever organisations hire their services, the proceeds would be lodged into their various bank accounts and given to them after their release from prison.
Source: QUARTZAFRICA
Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed is rewarding women’s contributions to the nation’s progress.
Source: Thompson Reuters Foundation
When massive gold deposits were discovered about a decade ago in Chimanimani, eastern Zimbabwe, the rural district became famous for attracting hundreds of artisanal miners from across the country every year.
Wealthy small-scale prospectors regularly offer residents generous deals for their land, locals say. To many widows selling their unused land, that kind of money can be life-changing and a source of greater autonomy.
But in recent years, widows in Chimanimani have found that taking a deal can have consequences. Many say they have been taken to tribal courts by their husbands' families for selling portions of their land.
"I feel bruised," said Mavis, a 63-year-old widow from Haroni village who did not want to disclose her surname.
"I lived in peace as a widow in my home until last year, when I sold an unwanted acre of my late husband's land to korokoza," she said, using a colloquial term for an artisanal gold miner.
He paid her $2,000 in cash. "All hell broke loose," Mavis explained.
When her male relatives found out about the sale, they reported her to the tribal court.
"The accusations were insane. They said I bewitched my husband, even though he died way back in 1979, in the colonial war," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The cultural norms of the Ndau people, who make up the majority of the population in Chimanimani, forbid widows from owning land their husbands leave behind or selling that land unless a male family member controls the transaction.
As her uncles laid claim to her late husband's property, Mavis joined a growing number of widows whose male family members have denied them the right to sell land they are supposed to legally inherit.
"In our village, I am the fourth widow since 2017 to be brought to (tribal court) for selling land without male approval," she said.
Her case is still ongoing.
TRIBAL JUSTICE
According to Zimbabwe's latest census, which was conducted in 2012, there are more than half a million widows in the country.
Throughout rural areas, widows routinely find themselves harassed and exploited by in-laws claiming the property their husbands left behind, rights activists say.
O'bren Nhachi, an activist and researcher focusing on natural resources and governance, said the problem has gotten worse in Chimanimani over the past few years, as the gold rush has pushed up the value of land.
"Chimanimani was a poor backwater district until gold was discovered. Suddenly, local land prices shot up because artisanal gold diggers are paying huge sums to snap up plots," he said.
"This has brought conflict, with male family members using patriarchy as a tool to dispossess widows of potential land sales income."
Although Zimbabwe's constitution gives women and men equal rights to property and land, in many rural communities tradition overrides national legislation, experts say.
Tribal custom dictates that chiefs are the custodians of communal land, and responsible for allocating land to villagers.
"A woman cannot sell land unless she has obtained permission from my Committee of Seven," said Mutape Moyo, a tribal headman in Chimanimani, referring to the group of elders – all men – who hear cases in the local customary court.
But this makes it unclear who has legal ownership of land, Nhachi said.
"The laws of the country say the state is the owner of all land. Tribal chiefs are merely 'custodians'. Does custodian mean they are owners?"
In a country where women carry out 70 percent of the agricultural work - according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization - Nhachi said more women need to be made aware of how to legally hold onto their land if their husbands die.
He said he would like to see the government implement legal awareness programmes and properly define who owns and distributes land in rural Zimbabwe.
NO RECOURSE
Provincial administrator Edward Seenza, the head civil servant of Manicaland province, where Chimanimani is located, said that if widows lose their land in tribal courts, there are ways for them to appeal and reverse the ruling.
"If anyone is unhappy with a village head's decision, they can speak to a chief,' he said.
"Where this does not produce the desired result, they can take their complaint to the district administrator and further up to my office."
But activists say few rural women know they have that option. And those who do are often too poor or too scared to travel to a government office.
Seenza said that so far, not one woman has come to him to appeal a tribal court ruling.
And without legal help, widows denied the right to sell their land can be left devastated.
Rejoice, a 38-year-old widow from Chipinge district, sold her late husband's mango orchard two years ago to a wealthy gold digger for $4,000. She needed the money to pay for medication to treat a kidney tumour.
Her father-in-law took her to tribal court.
"I was ordered to refund the buyer, in cash, with punitive interest; pay court fines for 'disrespect'; and surrender the rest of the land to male family custodians," said Rejoice, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.
She paid back the buyer as much as she could, but still owes him some money. And her husband's family is still fighting for ownership of the land, she added.
The court told her that if she does not honour the ruling, she could be thrown out of her home.
"I will end up a destitute, living on the roadside," she said. "The thought of this gives me sleepless nights.
Source: South China Morning Post
An acclaimed US charity operating in Liberia has admitted to major failings after girls at a school set up to save them from a life of sexual exploitation were systematically raped “We are profoundly, deeply sorry,” the charity More Than Me said on its website on Saturday after US investigative media said girls at a pioneering school in a slum had been repeatedly abused by the charity’s co-founder, Macintosh Johnson.Johnson eventually died of Aids and there are fears that he infected some of his victims – who were aged as young as 10 – with HIV which causes Aids, the investigative site ProPublica said in a lengthy investigative piece co-published with Time.
“To all the girls who were raped by Macintosh Johnson in 2014 and before: we failed you,” More Than Me said.“We gave Johnson power that he exploited to abuse children. Those power dynamics broke staff ability to report the abuse to our leadership immediately.
“Our leadership should have recognised the signs earlier and we have and will continue to employ training and awareness programmes so we do not miss this again.”
The assaults took place at a school at West Point, a notorious slum in the capital Monrovia. It opened in 2013 to a blaze of publicity, becoming the first of 18 schools that More Than Me opened in the impoverished West African state to empower girls.
The charity eventually raised more than US$8 million in funding, nearly US$600,000 of which came from the US government, and gained the support of Liberia’s then president and Nobel Peace Laureate, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
ProPublica described Johnson as a “charming hustler” who insinuated himself with Katie Meyler, who created the charity
Meyler, an evangelical Christian, had come to Liberia to try to help the country after its emergence from 14 years of civil war.
She threw herself into the task of helping girls in the slums.
Back in the US, she rubbed shoulders with philanthropist Warren Buffett, TV star and activist Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities in her campaign to drum up donations.
After some of the girls came forward to reveal what was happening, Johnson was suspended by the school and arrested.
He was put on trial in 2015, but this ended in a hung jury amid suggestions of bribes, ProPublica said. He was facing a retrial when he died in 2016 from an illness that the site said was Aids.
In its statement, More Than Me said it had been “naive to believe that providing education alone is enough to protect these girls from the abuses they may face – strong institutions, safeguarding policies and vigilance are needed to do that.”
Among the changes it had introduced, the charity maintained, was the providing of “private, school-wide HIV testing” to all students.
Source: Thomson Reuters
In some countries, people with albinism are targeted for their body parts which are prized in witchcraft
Six African women with albinism who made an attempt on the continent's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, said on Tuesday the trek was just the beginning of efforts to raise awareness and dispel negative images of people with the rare skin condition.
The women - from Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Senegal - began their ascent up the 5,895-metre (19,340-ft) summit in Tanzania on Oct. 1, but only one made it all the way to the summit, Uhuru peak.
Zimbabwean educator Nodumo Ncomanzi, 26, who reached Kilimanjaro's highest point on Sunday, said the women's struggle up the mountain reflected the daily struggles of thousands of people with albinism in Africa, and across the world.
"We are feeling very accomplished. It's one thing to pledge to climb Kilimanjaro, and another to actually do it," Ncomanzi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Moshi in Tanzania.
"Considering the extreme conditions we faced, we are all proud of our respective accomplishments.
"I don't think the message we were trying to send has been lost because five of us did not make it to the summit. The individual accomplishments of each climber speaks volumes and helps amplify the voices of persons with albinism."
The climb, said Ncomanzi, was just the beginning of their campaign and the women would organise more initiatives to highlight the challenges faced by people with albinism.
The rare genetic condition results in a lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. Sufferers are frequently shunned and attacked in Africa due to a lack of awareness.
In some countries, they are targeted for their body parts, which are prized in witchcraft for use as lucky charms or in magic potions. Women risk rape due to myths suggesting sex with a woman with albinism can cure AIDS.
The six women on the "Climb for Albinism" expedition have faced their own struggles growing up with the condition - some more horrific than others - and are now fighting the stigma and raising awareness about the condition.
One of the climbers is a rape survivor, while another climber was abandoned by her mother when she was born. One of the climbers, Tanzanian Mariamu Staford, had her arms hacked off 10 years ago when three men entered her home as she slept.
"I am happy that I challenged myself and realised that I am able to conquer anything," said Staford, 35, who reached 4,300 metres before developing severe altitude sickness and being airlifted.
Joining Ncomanzi and Staford, were Senegalese bass player Maah Koudia Keita, Nigerian optometrist Onyinye Edi, South African actress and singer Regina Mary Ndlovu, and Kenyan activist and expedition co-founder Jane Waithera.
Elia Saikaly, film-maker and co-founder of the expedition, said he was extremely proud of the six women, aged between 26 and 35. "Mount Kilimanjaro threw just about everything at us and in the end, the Climb for Albinism flag was raised on the roof of Africa," Saikaly said in a statement.
Source: CNN Africa
Diane Rwigara, a leading critic of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, spent more than a year in prison before she was released on bail Friday.
Source: The Guardian
Activists trying to open Uganda’s first centre for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have been told their plans for a safe space are illegal. Simon Lokodo, minister for ethics and integrity, said opening the community centre would be a criminal act.
“They will have to take it somewhere else. They can’t open a centre of LGBT activity here. Homosexuality is not allowed and completely unacceptable in Uganda,” he said. “We don’t and can’t allow it. LGBT activities are already banned and criminalised in this country. So popularising it is only committing a crime.”
Source: Voice of America
It was during her first year of high school in rural western Kenya that Mary Kuket says she was "sacrificed to tradition" and her dreams of becoming a doctor shattered forever.
With no explanation, the 15-year-old was given away to another family, who forced her to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM), then married her off to their middle-aged son.
Source: AllAfrica
Soham El Wardini, former deputy mayor of Dakar, has taken over the position of her predecessor, Khalifa Sall, who was imprisoned in March 2017 for corruption. Wardini polled 64 votes against her opponent's 13 votes and 11 votes for Moussa Sy and Banda Diop respectively.
Source: AllAfrica
President Mnangagwa has said his administration wants to make the judicial system more efficient and fix stronger penalties for convicted rapists once Parliament passes the Bills to deal with rape and sexual abuses. He said Government remained concerned with the frequency of gender-based violence against women and girls, sexual harassment, early child marriages and child sexual abuse.
Source: The Guardian
With violence against women resurgent and the US president fuelling misogyny, this man is an inspiration. He deserves his Nobel prize.
Today’s announcement of the Nobel peace prize for Denis Mukwege, with co-winner Nadia Murad, is a deeply deserved recognition for an extraordinary man who has risked everything to heal, cherish and honour women. It is a call to men across the planet to do the same. There are many reasons why the world needs to know the story of my friend Mukwege, who founded the Panzi hospital and co-founded the City of Joy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But in 2018, we need to hear that story more than ever.
Source: AllAfrica
A Nigerian policeman who served as a UN peacekeeper in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been sent home and barred from peacekeeping after an investigation found he had sexually exploited a woman, a UN spokesman said Tuesday.
The allegations against the Nigerian national date back to February and March 2017, but the woman later withdrew her complaint to the MONUSCO peace mission.
Source: The Star
Rwanda on Friday ordered the release on bail of a vocal critic of President Paul Kagame, further raising hopes for greater political tolerance in the country after the release last month of another jailed opposition figure
A Rwandan High Court judge ruled that Diane Rwigara and her mother, who was arrested along with her mother last year, would be released immediately but that they were not allowed to leave the capital Kigali "without the prosecutor's authorization".
Source: The Guardian
In a country where one in four women have a child by 19, and health workers offering birth control have been met by men with machetes, confronting myths about contraception is vital.
A woman lies on her back, a one-year-old straddling her. One hand is over her eyes, the other held out. A nurse gently inserts a small white strip of contraceptive implant into her upper arm while her baby plays on her. They beckon me in. Privacy hardly seems to be an issue here.
Source: Face2FaceAfrica
In Niger and certain parts of northern Nigeria, a form of slavery and sexual exploitation still runs rampant although it is not widely discussed in larger circles. It was outlawed in 2005, nevertheless, it is still carried out in secret with the assistance of tribal chiefs, traders and families.
Wahaya is practiced by men of wealth as a way to exhibit their riches and flaunt their social status. This includes noblemen, farmers, tradesmen and businessmen further fueling sexual abuse, exploitation, underage ‘marriage’ and sex trafficking.In Islam, a man is permitted to marry up to four wives, as long as he can equally and provide for all of his spouses. In the practice of wahaya, wahayu or sadaka, a man acquires a 5th “wife” via a sale in which this wife becomes a slave to her husband as well as any other spouses and children he may have.
Source: The Southern Times
Women in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries continue to be denied equal representation in political and decision-making positions at various levels of governance.
A damning document seen by The Southern Times discussed in the SADC Council of Ministers’ meeting held in Namibia last month shows that there has not been a significant improvement in the number of women representation at various levels of governance. In fact, women representation at various levels of governance has decreased in the last five years (2014-2018).
Source: Egyptian Streets
Detained Egyptian human rights activist and actress Amal Fathy has been sentenced for 2 years in prison and received a EGP 10,000 fine on 29 September for “spreading false news” and bad mouthing the state on a social media video.
Source: The Guardian
Despite high levels of violence within relationships in Nigeria, wedding vows are still regarded as sacred, and women are urged to stay with bullying husbands
Dr Perpetua Mbanefo was just getting ready to drive to her new internship in Lagos when her husband suddenly got upset, seizing her car keys and medical licence. “He said I am becoming too free. Then I asked him for my things back and he got very upset, dragged me and threatened to stab me with a broken bottle.”